κεῖμαι

Forms

κεῖμαι (keîmai) ^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Indo-European *ḱéytor, from the root Proto-Indo-European *ḱey- (“to lie down”).^[1][2] The full-grade athematic middle κεῖται (keîtai), with the Ionic plural κέαται (kéatai), matches the Sanskrit 3rd singular śaye and plural śere, from an old stative paradigm; beside it there was a regular middle, seen in Sanskrit शेते (śéte), Avestan saēte (“lies”), Hittite kitta and Lycian sijẽni.^[2][1]

The same root gives nouns in other languages: Lithuanian šeimýna (“family”), Latvian sàime (“family”), Old Irish cóim (“dear”), Latin cīvis (“citizen”) and Old Armenian սէր (sēr, “love”).^[2][1] In Greek, κοίτη (koítē) “bed” and κοιμάω (koimáō) “to put to sleep” are from the same root.^[3][2]

Earliest recorded meaning

In Homer it means to lie, of people lying asleep, wounded or dead, and of things lying or stored somewhere.^[4][5] GLAUx's first example is in the first book of the Iliad.^[4][5][6]

Semantic evolution

From “lie” Homer already derived “lie dead” and “lie unburied”, and of places “be situated”: an island “lies” far out at sea in the Odyssey.^[5][4] Epitaphs use it for “lie buried” (“here we lie”).^[5] Of things it meant “be stored away”, and of money “be deposited”.^[4] Because it serves as the passive of τίθημι (títhēmi) “put”, it also means “be laid down, be established”, of laws, prizes and names, for example of laws.^[4][7] Figuratively an outcome “lies in the lap of the gods” (Homer), and a matter “depends” on someone (Pindar, Sophocles).^[4]

The New Testament uses it for a child lying in a manger, a dead body in a tomb, and a city set on a hill.^[7] It survives as the learned Modern Greek κείμαι (kímai) “lie, be situated, lie buried”.^[8][3][9]

Timeline

• Homer – The Iliad and the Odyssey use it for lying, lying dead and being situated.^[5][4]
• 6th–5th century BC – Pindar uses it for depending on someone.^[4][10]
• 6th–5th century BC – Simonides' epitaphs use it for lying buried.^[5][10]
• 1st century AD – The Gospel of Luke uses it for the child lying in the manger.^[7]

Meanings

Verb

1. To lie, lie down, lie asleep.^[5][4]
2. To lie sick, wounded or prostrate.^[5][4]
3. To lie dead; to lie unburied; to lie buried.^[5][4]
4. Of things, to lie, rest; of places, to be situated.^[5][4]
5. To lie idle or unused; to be at rest.^[4]
6. To be stored away; of money, to be deposited.^[4]
7. To depend on someone; to rest with the gods.^[4]
8. As the passive of τίθημι (títhēmi): to be laid down, established, of laws.^[4][7]

Word family

• ἄκοιτις (ákoitis)
• ἀνάκειμαι (anákeimai)
• ἀντίκειμαι (antíkeimai)
• ἀπόκειμαι (apókeimai)
• διάκειμαι (diákeimai)
• ἔγκειμαι (énkeimai)
• ἔκκειμαι (ékkeimai)
• ἐπίκειμαι (epíkeimai)
• κατάκειμαι (katákeimai)
• κειμήλιον (keimḗlion)
• κοίτη (koítē)
• κοιμάω (koimáō)

Related words

• Latin cīvis

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d Beekes, Robert S. P. (2010), Etymological Dictionary of Greek, with the assistance of Lucien van Beek, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 10, Leiden; Boston: Brill
3. ^ a b Babiniotis, Georgios (2010), Ετυμολογικό λεξικό της νέας ελληνικής γλώσσας [Etymological Dictionary of Modern Greek], Athens: Κέντρο Λεξικολογίας
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Diggle, James, et al., eds. (2021), The Cambridge Greek Lexicon, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert; Jones, Henry Stuart (1940), A Greek-English Lexicon, 9th ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ Keersmaekers, Alek (2021–2025), GLAUx: The Greek Language Automated corpus, https://github.com/alekkeersmaekers/glaux
7. ^ a b c d Bauer, Walter; Danker, Frederick W., et al. (2000), A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, 3rd ed., Chicago: University of Chicago Press
8. ^ Ινστιτούτο Νεοελληνικών Σπουδών (Ίδρυμα Μανόλη Τριανταφυλλίδη) (1998), Λεξικό της κοινής νεοελληνικής, Thessaloniki: Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
9. ^ Kriaras, Emmanuel, Επιτομή του Λεξικού της μεσαιωνικής ελληνικής δημώδους γραμματείας 1100–1669, Κέντρο Ελληνικής Γλώσσας, https://www.greek-language.gr
10. ^ a b Rodríguez Adrados, Francisco, et al., eds. (1980–), Diccionario Griego-Español, Madrid: CSIC, http://dge.cchs.csic.es/xdge